


Sometimes, Labels Don't Matter

by kickcows



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Kissing, M/M, Spin the Bottle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-19
Updated: 2014-12-19
Packaged: 2018-03-01 00:47:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2753360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kickcows/pseuds/kickcows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin gets invited to a party by his sister, which turns out to be at the most popular kid in their school's house - Makoto Tachibana. What happens at the party surprises Rin, for all the right reasons. Written for MakoRin Week 2014.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sometimes, Labels Don't Matter

**Author's Note:**

> This is written for the sixth prompt for [MakoRin week](http://makorinweek.tumblr.com) \- AU. Since this is from Rin's PoV, I've decided to use Gou's proper name - Kou - since he would call her this. Please enjoy!

***

The halls are bustling with the sounds of teenagers rejoicing another weekend has arrived, as the last bell has rung for the week. Rin is being pushed back and forth, but he fights against the crowd, making his way towards his locker. One of the drawbacks of where his locker is is that it’s in one of the busier hallways, so trying to get there always made him feel like he was swimming upstream. He pushes people, albeit politely, out of the way of his locker, and begins to put the books he won’t need for the weekend back inside of it.

“Are you going to the party tonight?” A voice asks, as a shadow looms over his head. He looks up, and sees his best friend, Sosuke Yamazaki, standing there with a smirk on his face.

“Which one?” Rin shuts his locker door, and heaves his backpack onto his right shoulder. “Aren’t there like, five different ones happening tonight?”

“Are there?” Sosuke asks. “I didn’t realize you were that popular, Rin.”

He snorts, and shakes his head, maroon bangs falling onto his face. “You and I both know that I am the furthest person on the spectrum of popularity.” As they walk outside, he sees a group of guys sitting together, and a bunch of girls surrounding the boy in the center.

“Well, we’re there together.” Sosuke chuckles. “And really, do you want to be popular like Makoto Tachibana and those guys over there?” He points at the crowd Rin noticed immediately once they stepped outside.

Looking over at the group, he briefly makes eye contact with the boy in the center - Makoto Tachibana, the captain of the swim team. He quickly looks away, but not before his heart starts to pound loud in his ears. The other boys that he’s with are the rest of the swim team - Haruka Nanase, Rei Ryugazaki, and Nagisa Hazuki. Rin had tried out for the swim team but just didn’t have the stuff. When both he and Sosuke got denied, they decided to join the junior varsity tennis team, where they were just a couple of guys who could play tennis well. Nothing terribly exciting. Not like Tachibana and his crew of winners. And since their team kept winning the meets, they were becoming more and more popular on campus, as the other sports teams were struggling to stay afloat.

“Not really,” Rin shakes his head. He can see his sister in the group of girls surrounding them, and can’t help but wonder just what it is she sees in those guys. They walk past the group, and start to walk home. “Anyway, I don’t like parties all that much.” He pushed his hands into his pockets. “Are you going to go to any of them?”

Sosuke nods his head. “Yeah, there’s one that seemed to grab my attention. I guess Momo’s older brother’s frat house is having a party.”

“Seijuurou?” Rin’s surprised to hear that Seijuurou is in a frat. “Well, you have fun with that. High school girls not enough for you?” He punches Sosuke’s shoulder lightly.

Seijuurou had been on the varsity tennis team when they had first joined, and they had all gotten along well. His younger brother, Momotarou, had joined the team this year and was showing promise. Both he and another junior - Nitori, were working well together as a team, and tended to be matched up with him and Sosuke in practices. Momo was good, but he wasn’t his older brother.

“Come with me, Rin.” They stop in front of Sosuke’s house. “I’ll even drive, so you can drink if you want to.”

He shakes his head. “As appealing as that sounds, it’s just not my scene. You go and have fun tonight. I’ll give you a call tomorrow.” He gives a wave and starts to walk away.

“If you change your mind, I’m not going to be leaving until probably 8 tonight.” Sosuke waves, and heads into his house.

Rin thinks about it the entire way home, but decides he’d rather get his homework done and not have to worry about it for the rest of the weekend. He gets home and heads to his bedroom, closing the door behind him. He lays down on his bed, face first, and sighs. The sadness starts to creep in, as he thinks about how lame he is for wanting to do homework instead of hanging out with his friends. He closes his eyes, and drifts to sleep, pushing the sad thoughts away.

“Onii-chan! Open up!” There’s a loud knocking on his bedroom door. “Onii-chan!”

Rin groans, and turns onto his side, and looks at the door. “Go away, Kou!” He looks at the clock, and is surprised to see that he’s been asleep for two hours. “Holy shit.” He sits up, and runs a hand through his hair.

“Don’t tell me to go away!” She opens the door, and crosses her arms over her chest. “Look, Mom said that she needs the house to herself for a few hours. She’s out right now, but when she gets back, she expects us to be gone.”

“What?” Rin thinks he hears what his sister is saying. “But, why? I’ve got no plans tonight. I was just going to stay in my room and do homework.”

“I guess she’s out on a date. That’s all I know. And isn’t Seijuurou having a party tonight?” Kou leans against the doorframe.

“I’m not going.” He doesn’t have to justify to his sister just why he’s not going. He can tell she wants to hear more, but refuses to say anything else about it.

“Then come with me to my party.” Kou nods. “Yes, you’ll come with me to mine. We’re leaving at 7, though, so you’ve got like...half an hour to get ready.”

“But it’s only 5:30!” Rin points at the clock. “If we’re leaving at 7, then-”

“I need the bathroom too, duh.” Kou sticks her tongue out at him. “Oh, and be sure to wear something nice.”

“Nice?! We’re in high school! What the fuck do I own that’s nice besides the suit I wore to Dad’s funeral when we were 10? I doubt that still fits me, Kou.” He grabs something to throw at his sister, but she darts out of the room.

He can hear her laughing. “Find something, Rin! A nice sweater, or something. You’ll figure it out. Hurry up and shower, so I can use the bathroom too!”

Rin drops the item, and falls back onto the bed. He looks at his phone and is tempted to text Sosuke, telling him he’ll be at his house at 7, but something stops him. He hasn’t hung out with his younger sister in quite some time, and begins to think that maybe this party she wants to take him to won’t be so bad. Hell, maybe she’s taking him to the same party. That gets him out of bed.

After showering, he heads back into his bedroom and stands at his closet. He really doesn’t have a lot of ‘nice’ clothes, so he picks what he thinks is the best, and gets dressed. He finds a black button up shirt buried in the back of his closet, that he wears with a pair of dark blue jeans. Grabbing his trainers, he walks out to the living room and sees his sister waiting for him.

“Gosh, Kou. Did you forget your skirt?” He smirks, as she throws a knick knack at him.

“And I was going to tell you you looked nice.” She sticks her tongue out at him, and fixes her short skirt. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Rin nods. “Are you going to tell me what party we’re going to?”

“There’s more than one?” She grabs her purse, and they head out of the house together. There’s a car waiting out front for them, with a pink fuzzy mustache on the front grill.

He opens the backseat door for her, and closes it once she’s in. He hops into the front seat. “Where we goin, guys?” The driver asks.

Kou rattles off an address Rin isn’t familiar with. _Guess that means we’re not going to Seijuurou’s party_. He sits back in the passenger seat, and tunes his sister out, who starts to strike up a conversation with their driver.

It takes them twenty minutes to get to the house the party is being held at. Rin looks up, and is surprised to see such a fancy neighborhood. He gets out of the car, and opens the door for his sister. “Where the hell are we, Kou?”

“Relax, onii-chan. These guys go to our school.” They head up to the front door together, making Rin feel extremely uncomfortable.

“Who the hell goes to our school that lives in this wealthy of a neighborhood? Why don’t they go to that private academy? Um…”

“Samezuka?” Kou looks at him, a knowing smirk on her face. “Maybe because their parents want them to stay grounded with us _plebs_ , onii-chan.”

The door opens, and Rin’s heart stops. “Ah! Kou! You made it! And you brought your brother!” The teen standing at the door has a million-watt smile on his face. His hand extends out towards Rin. “I don’t think we’ve officially met. My name is-”

“I know who you are.” Rin replies, before he lets him finish the introduction.

“Onii-chan!” Kou stares at him with shock on her face. “Why are you being so rude?”

“It’s okay, Kou. Won’t you two please come in? There are more people downstairs. You remember the way, don’t you?”

Kou nods her head, and steps inside, leaving Rin alone. He shoves his hands into his pockets, and tries to ignore the hammering in his chest. “Are you going to come in, or do you wish to stand outside all evening?” The hosts asks him, that smile still on his face, even after he’s acted like a total tool to him just a few moments ago.

“I think I should probably go.” Rin can see people mingling inside of the house, and can feel the anxiety start to creep in. This wasn’t his crowd of people. No, these were the popular kids, and he had no reason to be here, except to be the butt of their jokes. It was something he could definitely deal without.

“Please come inside for just a little bit? Maybe have some food, then you can go? We’ve got a lot of food set up.”

Rin’s stomach starts to gurgle at the mention of food. Admitting defeat, and not wanting to call another ride, he holds out his hand reluctantly. “I’m Rin Matsuoka.”

“Makoto Tachibana.”

He walks into the house after shaking his hand, ignoring how his hand still feels a little warm from their brief handshake. “What’s the celebration for?” He asks.

“No reason. Just felt like having a party.” The doorbells rings. “Ah, excuse me. Please, go and enjoy yourself!” Makoto turns and heads back towards the front door.

Left alone, Rin sees the food set up Makoto talked about and heads towards the table. He looks around and doesn’t see his sister anywhere. There are a bunch of people milling about, all people he’s seen at school, but has no idea who any of them are. He vaguely remembers Makoto mentioning something about downstairs, and decides to head down there with his plate of food.

“Onii-chan!” Kou waves at him when he gets to the bottom of the stairs. He sees she’s sitting with the same group of boys he had seen her hanging around after school, including the host of the party. “Onii-chan, come over here!”

Walking over to the group, he tries to ignore the nervous butterflies which have appeared, making his appetite all but go away. He stands near his sister, and looks at her. “What’s up, Kou?”

“Guys, this is my brother.” Kou takes the plate from him, and starts eating the food he’s taken for himself. Normally, he’d put up a fight, but with his anxiety kicking up, he is more than happy to give her the food.

“I think the red hair makes that quite clear, Gou-chan.” The short blonde, Nagisa replies. “Hi, Gou’s brother.”

“Rin. My name is Rin.” He gives a half-hearted wave. “Nice to meet you.”

“You play tennis, right?” The brunette, Haruka, asks. Rin nods his head. “Cool.”

“Look, I’m gonna go get some more food.” Rin turns on his heel. “Nice to meet you all.” He glances at everyone briefly, before walking away.

As he starts to walk back up the stairs, he hears someone following him up. “Rin? Would you like for me to get a Lyft driver up here to pick you up?” Makoto asks, once they both get up to the top of the stairs.

“No, I’ll be fine. I’m just going to get more food.” Rin pushes some of his hair off of his face. “I’ll come back downstairs. Tell my sister not to worry.”

Makoto’s smile makes the anxiety disappear, but causes something else to appear. “Alright, Rin.” Makoto heads back down the stairs, leaving Rin alone.

He pulls out his phone, and sends a text to Sosuke. “ _You at Seijuurou’s party yet?”_ Grabbing another plate, he starts to load it up with more snacks.

“ _Yeah. It’s intense over here. You at home?_ ” A reply comes only a few minutes after he’s sent his first text.

Rin isn’t sure what to tell his best friend. “ _Yeah. Gonna go to bed soon. Remember, wrap it._ ”

“ _Gross. Thanks for the reminder, MOM._ ” Rin laughs, and pockets his phone, before going back downstairs.

When he gets down there, he sees most of the people sitting in a circle, with what looked like a glass bottle in the middle. He groans, and decides to head back up the stairs, when a voice calls out to him.

“Where are you going?” It’s his sister. “Get your butt back down here, onii-chan.”

Rather than make more of a scene, he goes and sits in the circle, across from his sister. “Are we seriously playing Spin the Bottle?”

“Why not?” The boy with blue hair, Rei, replies. “The odds are slim that the bottle will ever land on you.”

“Besides, it was either this or Truth or Dare. Or maybe Seven Minutes in Heaven.” Nagisa grins mischievously. Rin silently prays that his face isn’t as red as he feels like it is. “But, the night is still young!”

Looking around at the group in the circle, he sees it’s pretty evenly matched between both sexes. The food he’s brought down get forgotten again, as he sets the plate on a table behind where he’s sitting. He stares at the bottle, and hopes that it won’t land on him. Why he’s even agreed to still be sitting here, he can’t comprehend. But, since his sister was giving him shit, and rather than retaliate against her, he’d just suck up and deal.

“If the bottle lands on you, you must kiss the person for at least 5 seconds. No open mouth, no tongue. Just lips. Do we all agree?” Makoto asks, looking around at the group. Rin nods his head, along with the others, understanding the rules clearly. “Then…..ready….go!” He grabs the bottle in the center, and spins it first.

Rin exhales, as he sees the bottle land on a girl in their class. He can see her visibly freaking out, no doubt because she’s about to receive a kiss from one of the popular boys in school. He observes Makoto, his eyes going towards his lips. The kiss is as platonic as they come, and it almost looks like Makoto is the slightest bit uncomfortable. Wondering what that’s about, he’s about to say something, but holds his tongue as Makoto goes and sits back down in his spot.

They go counterclockwise, Rin having to suffer through 8 people before it’s his turn to spin the bottle. In the time he was waiting for his turn, he did not have the bottle land on him. He stands up and takes the bottle.

“If I get my sister, I get another spin.” He looks up, and sees Makoto nod his head. “Thanks.” Rin takes a deep breath and spins the bottle, making the bottle spin faster than anyone’s made it spin.

He holds his breath, hoping it’ll land on someone cute. Out of the people that had gone before him, only a few had to kiss the same sex. Knowing his luck, he’d probably wind up kissing a boy, which actually was okay with him, since he had just recently come to terms with his homosexuality. He sees his sister staring hard at the bottle, while he’s trying to ignore it, the rotations slowing down more and more. He looks down and watches it come to a slow stop, and looks up at where it’s pointed.

Why, out of all the people, does it have to be the host of the party? He gets up on his knees and crawls over to where Makoto is sitting. He leans over, and before his nerves prevent him from doing anything, his lips touch Makoto’s with a soft kiss.

Expecting to feel resistance, Rin’s surprised to feel Makoto’s lips soft and pliable. He had seen the way others had kissed, and he had yet to see someone that’s accepting of the situation. After counting to five in his head, he quickly pulls away and sits back down in his spot in the circle. The person beside him grabs the bottle and starts to spin it, the moment all but forgotten.

Rin can sense someone is looking at him, so he looks over and sees it’s his sister. She winks, and smiles knowingly, before returning back to the game. He rubs a hand over his face, sighing softly. He still feels someone watching him, so he looks around and sees there is. The next couple is kissing, but he doesn’t notice it; his eyes are locked onto soft green irises of Makoto that are staring at him.

The two that are kissing, their kiss ends with everyone laughing, as one of the recipients has done something silly. The laughter breaks their stare, Makoto’s eyes moving towards the commotion first. Rin can hear himself breathing, and hopes it isn’t as loud to anyone else as it is to his own ears. He isn’t sure what just happened really did happen, as there was no reason for a person such as Makoto to look at him in that manner. Popular people just don’t notice him.

They go another couple of rounds, the bottle only landing on Rin two times. He kissed both another boy and a girl, and when it had been his turn, it had landed on two different girls. He figures the party games are over, and starts to reach for the plate that’s still sitting behind him, when Nagisa makes an announcement.

“Since this was so successful, do you guys want to try playing Seven Minutes in Heaven? Or should we just start watching movies, or play some Rock Band?” Nagisa grabs a notebook off the table, and starts to tear a piece of paper up into small squares.

Everyone readily agreed to it, which makes Rin feel a little strange. He wasn’t sure why they were playing these kinds of games to begin with. But, he didn’t really ever go to parties, so how was he to know that this wasn’t how parties normally progressed? Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out his phone, and sees he’s got a picture message from Sosuke.

“ _Bet you wish you were here!_ ” Sosuke was holding up a beer, wearing the biggest grin on his face. Rin chuckles, and types a response to him.

“ _Just get home safe, asshole. Or stay at the party. Don’t drive home drunk._ ”

Another text comes two minutes later. “ _Don’t worry. Already got a bed. Call you tomorrow._ ”

Rin puts his phone back in his pocket, happy to know that his friend was going to be okay for the evening. He sees Nagisa writing stuff on the paper he’s torn up, and can’t figure out what he’s doing.

“Oy, Nagisa.” The blonde looks over at him. “What are you doing?”

“Have you never played this before, Rin-chan?” He groans at the name, but doesn’t draw attention to it.

“No, I haven’t. Why?”

“We put everyone’s name into a hat, and then draw two names. That way, it’s completely random each time. Do you know what the rules are?” Nagisa puts the pieces of paper into a hat, and begins to toss them around to mix them up.

Rin shakes his head. “Something about seven minutes.”

“If your name is picked, you go into that closet over there with the other person.” His sister answers them. Rin hopes that his sister has never participated in something like this, because the thought of her spending some alone time in the dark with someone was making his blood boil. “You can talk, kiss, or just stand there and wait until it’s over.” She grins, twirling some of her hair with her finger. “Oh, and you have to leave your cellphones with the timekeeper of your round.”

“What?? Why?” Rin is beginning to wish he hadn’t agreed to this game. He can see everyone else is excited by it, as they’ve all gathered into small groups.

“Because, onii-chan, you can’t know the time. You have to be in there without knowing how long the time has passed.” She laughs. “Don’t look so worried! You don’t have to do anything perverted in there, you know.”

“Says the girl-” Rei begins to speak, but it quickly silenced by Rin’s death glare. “Sorry!”

“Enough. Let’s play.” Haruka looks at Nagisa. “Draw two names.”

Rin is pleased when the first two that get called are not either him or his sister. He watches Rei and one of the girls head into the small closet. Both hand over their phones, and Rei takes off his watch and gives it to Kou, who has a timer set up on her phone. Once they go into the closet, she begins the timer.

He begins to wonder just how long this game can go on for, as there are only so many of them at the party. But, it turns out people get put back into the hat, which means this game could go on the rest of the night. At least the television is on, and is playing a movie in the background, while everyone is talking, until Kou announces that the seven minutes are up. Rei walks out of the closet with his hair messed up, and a slight stain of lipstick on his lips.

“Really, Rei-chan?” Nagisa feigns jealousy, as Rei goes over to him, who is already apologizing. Rin scratches the back of his neck, trying to figure out what’s going on.

“They’re a couple.” A voice speaks quietly, making Rin’s blood start to rush through his body. He turns and sees Makoto is standing next to him, a knowing smile on his face. “Nagisa always give him shit whenever we play this game. But, what Nagisa doesn’t seem to understand is that he’s mostly the cause that we wind up playing this game in the first place.”

“So, this is a common party game for you.” Rin doesn’t ask the question. He states it as a fact, and sees Makoto nod in agreement. “Do you have parties often?”

“Every quarter.”

Makoto’s easy to talk to, when there isn’t a group of people vying for his attention. Rin looks around at the people, and sees two new victims going into the closet together. “Your parents don’t care that there’s a bunch of teenagers doing who knows what down here with no supervision?”

“My parents trust me.” A girl comes over to them, and grabs Makoto’s hand. “I hope you’re enjoying the party, Rin!” He lets himself be led away by the girl, leaving Rin alone.

Rin goes over to the couch and sits down, careful to not drop any of the food he’s about to finally dig into. He reaches for a potato chip, brings it up to his face, and then stops when he hears Nagisa call his name.

“What?” He looks over at the blonde, the chip being held precariously with his index finger and thumb. “Did you just call me?”

“Yep!” Nagisa holds up a small piece of paper. “Your turn!”

He sets his plate on the coffee table, and stands up. “It’s not with Kou, is it?”

“No, silly. It’s not with Kou. Did you not hear who got called?” Nagisa has that mischievous smile back on his face, making Rin start to mildly panic.

“I was watching the movie. I had no idea you guys were still playing the game.” Rin runs a hand through his hair. “Are they already in there?”

“Yup!” Nagisa points to the closet. “In you go.”

He drags himself over to where Nagisa is sitting, and hands over his cellphone. He walks up to the closet door and gives it a light knock, not wanting to scare whoever is on the other side. He looks over at Kou, and sees she’s got a big smile on her face.

“Seven minutes starts….now!” She says, as he steps into the closet and closes the door.

It’s pitch black in the closet. He can vaguely see a shape in front of him, but he’s not sure if it’s a girl or a boy, or maybe it’s a bulky coat. He opens his mouth to acknowledge the person he’s in there with, but stops when he feels warm breath against his lips. Without thinking about it, he parts his lips and welcomes the kiss from the person stuck in the closet with him. He groans low, hoping it can’t be heard outside. His back is pushed up against the wall of the closet, clothes being pushed out towards the sides. Rin puts his arms around the person kissing him, and feels short hair on the back of his arm. Knowing it’s a boy somehow puts his mind at ease, as he starts to kiss the stranger back with urgency.

He knows these seven minutes are going to slip away faster than he wants, and these kisses he’s sharing with this stranger are some of the most intense kisses he’s ever experienced. Maybe it’s because he’s totally blind, and has no idea who this person is, which adds to the mystery of it all. If he had only been paying attention to the game, instead of watching the television, maybe he’d know who this person is.

They break apart, taking much needed breaths, but then Rin feels the person’s lips start to kiss the side of his neck. His hands go to their shoulders, balancing himself as he tilts his head for them. He can feel the second button on his shirt being undone, to open his shirt more. He bites his lower lip, not wanting to make much noise as those lips send the pleasure spiking through his body. He can feel the hardness of the person against his knee, and he begins to rub it back and forth, hoping to bring the same type of pleasure he’s experiencing to them.

A low groan pierces his eardrum, as the person kissing his neck gives him a sign that he’s enjoying this just as much as he is. Teeth graze the base of his neck, Rin’s fingers digging into the shoulders he’s holding onto. Lips are now back on his, as they kiss each other deeply. Rin’s tongue is in their mouth, while their tongue is in his, both breathing heavily through their noses. The knee that’s between them moves, as he tries to regain the balance he’s slowly losing. A hand reaches down, and pulls his leg back up. Their groins push against each other, as both moan low into the kiss. Rin knows if they keep this up, he’s going to have a problem with the pants he’s wearing, but decides to risk the chance if it meant feeling more of this.

“Time’s up!” He hears his sister’s voice from the other side of the door, making his heart drop.

The kiss they share ends, as his leg is lowered back down. Rin quickly buttons up his shirt, and wipes off his mouth, hoping he doesn’t look as off-kilter as he feels. He opens the door, and blinks a few times, the brightness of lights hurting his eyes. He walks out, and turns to look behind him. His jaw drops when he sees just who it is he was in there with.

“How many is that tonight, Mako-chan?” Nagisa asks, a large smirk on his face.

Makoto laughs nervously. “Now, Nagisa, what did I say about that?” Green eyes look over at him, Rin’s surprise still trying to work through his system. “Alright, who’s next?”

Rin somehow makes it back to the couch, and sits down where his plate of food is. Deciding he wants to get another fresh plate, he gets back up and heads towards the stairs. “Oy, Nagisa. If you call me again, I’ll be right back down.” He walks up the stairs, his heart still pounding hard in his chest as he goes over just what he did in the closet with Makoto Tachibana.

“They’ve put the food away.” Rin almost drops the plate he’s picked up to the floor, as he listens to Makoto laugh quietly. “There’s some in the kitchen, though. Would you like for me to show you where that is?”

“Yes, please.” Rin mumbles, holding the plate to his side. He follows Makoto through a couple of hallways, and walks into a large kitchen.

“What would you like?” Makoto asks, opening the fridge door. “There’s still some cold cuts, some veggies and dip, or maybe you’d prefer something sweet? I think there’s a cookie platter buried in here somewhere.”

“I can find something. You should go back downstairs.” Rin sets his plate down on the countertop. “Thank you for showing me in here.”

The taller teen looks over at him, that ever-present smile on his face makes Rin’s body feel like it’s floating on air. “You sure? I don’t mind waiting around.”

“If you can find the cookies, that’d be great.” Rin knows it’s pointless to tell him to leave, because it seems like Makoto wants to stay there with him. “Makoto? Can I ask you something?” The words are out before he’s able to take them back.

“Sure.” Makoto pulls out the cookie platter, and sets it down next to Rin’s plate. “What is it?”

“This is going to be such a stupid question, but I have to know.” Rin grabs a chocolate chip cookie, and starts to munch on it nervously. “But, um….have you been doing that with everyone in the closet?”

He doesn’t know why he wants to know. It isn’t that he wants to know, he _has_ to know. It’ll make him feel better, knowing that he was being treated the same way as everyone else. That there’s nothing special about him. He’s just another person attending a popular person’s party, at the behest of his sister.

“Everyone?” Makoto shakes his head. “No. I haven’t. I haven’t do anything with anyone in that closet except for you.”

“Really? Why don’t I believe that?” Rin asks, finishing off the cookie. He can feel his palms beginning to sweat, and quickly wipes them off on his legs. “We should go back downstairs.” He turns and starts to head out of the kitchen, but is stopped by Makoto touching his back.

“You asked me a question, and I answered it honestly. Why are you running away from me?” Rin can feel himself being turned around, and is helpless to stop it. He looks up at Makoto, and begins to feel light-headed.

He closes his eyes, and sighs. “I’m running away because I’m not in the same league as you. And I’m a guy.”

“Um, do you not remember what we just did in the closet?” Makoto’s exasperated voice makes Rin open his eyes. “To tell you the truth, you’re here because I wanted you to come to this party.”

Blinking, Rin stares, dumbfounded by this new information. “No, that’s not true. My sister begged me to go with her tonight.”

“Because I told her I was hoping you’d come too.” Makoto steps closer to him, trapping him against the kitchen wall. “Why won’t you believe me?”

“Was the closet just a weird coincidence, or…” Rin’s lips part, as Makoto’s lips hover close to his.

“What do you think, Rin?” The way he says his name makes Rin moan weakly.

“What about…”

“There’s no one, Rin. I’ve been watching you, probably without you realizing it. Just like I know I’ve seen you look at me too.” Makoto kisses him softly, before continuing. “I’m not as popular as you think I am. And so what? I know who I like, and I like you.”

Rin lifts his head, stealing another quick kiss from Makoto. “Is this all an elaborate plan to ask me out on a date?”

“Will you say yes if it is?” Makoto’s lips keep leaving soft kisses in quick succession, but never lingering longer than a few moments. “Rin?”

“Yes.” Rin nods his head. He may be stupid, and this may bite him in the ass later on, but for now, this seems like the right thing to do. Especially since knowing that it was Makoto in the closet with him, and how _good_ everything had felt in there made him want to see what else they could do together.

Makoto’s smile is infectious, and he returns the smile. “Good. Then, let’s go back downstairs!” He takes Rin’s hand, and leads him back down to the lower level, forgetting to put the cookie tray back into the fridge.

“Finally!” Nagisa groans, as the two of them stand at the base of the stairs. “We thought you two were gone for the night.” Nagisa tosses Rin his phone. “You forgot this.”

Rin grabs it, looks over at his sister, and notices that she’s smiling like he hasn’t seen in a long time. He smiles back, and realizes that maybe attending this party wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Looking down at his hand, still being held by Makoto’s, the smile on his face increases.

Perhaps dating a popular guy isn't going to be so bad after all.


End file.
